OUR MISSION
The mission of The Church of the Good Shepherd is to make disciples of Jesus Christ on the northwest side of the Research Triangle, calling them in to a devoted community of worshiping and maturing brothers and sisters, and sending them out into this culture and across cultures to be salt of the earth and light to the world to the glory of God.
OUR VISION
The vision of The Church of the Good Shepherd is to become a thousand-member regional resource church that will be a center for the worship of God, a saltshaker affecting economic, cultural, and political life, and a catalyst for the evangelization of the diverse people groups in the Triangle and beyond.
Our Ten Year Plan (Executive Summary)
Our Ten Year Plan (in full)
Q. Where are we doing this?
A. With the academic, business, and professional community between UNC and Duke.
Q. Does this description mean we are exclusive?
A. Not at all! Our Lord is no respecter of persons nor do we wish to be. We want to see disciples made here from every educational, socio-economic, and racial group. To that end we will welcome enthusiastically any person who comes to us, and we will take initiative to help plant churches in other geographic parts of our area with other people groups or sub-cultures, using tools and forms adapted to those groups. We believe we are taking a strategic first step toward reaching all our area.
Q. Why do we describe our location as "the northwest side of the Research Triangle" instead of simply Chapel Hill or Durham?
A. Because we believe that we have been called to fill a gap between Chapel Hill and Durham (drawing from both communities) to complement and cooperate with other evangelical churches that were here before us and because we believe we have been called to try to become a regional "resource church" that can help start other churches and provide specialized ministries for the area.
Q. How large do we envision our church growing?
A. Only the Lord of the church knows, but our current understanding of his plan for us would be to plant other churches rather than growing beyond 1,000 members. We believe it is desirable to be large enough both to make a noticeable impact on our area and to be a resource for world evangelization yet small enough to meet together at the same place and time.
Q. What kind of church are we theologically?
A. We are an evangelical congregation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America. By evangelical we mean "characterized by the gospel," the message about the seeking and saving Son of God, Jesus Christ, contained in the authoritative Word of God, the Bible. By being part of the PCA we bind ourselves to other churches of like heart who express their understanding of biblical teaching through the Westminster standards. We describe ourselves as evangelical first and presbyterian second to distinguish essential doctrines from important but non-essential ones.
Q. When will our vision for this church have been fulfilled?
A. When "the earth is full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). We intend to be "worshiping the Shepherd, feeding the flock, and seeking the lost" until Christ's Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is completed not just in Chapel Hill-Durham, but around the world and our Lord returns in glory to consummate his kingdom.